Young Heart's Desire
by Nanaki BH
Summary: [NarutoxGaara] Naruto finally musters up the courage to tell Gaara how he's been feeling but things don't go quite to plan.


Disclaimer: Naruto and all associated characters and materials are property of Masashi Kishimoto and Shonen Jump.

Young Heart's Desire  
By: Nanaki BH

"You... what?"

Gaara's files fell from his grasp and his hands hung limply at his sides. The air in the room suddenly felt thick and still. His mouth felt dry and his mind raced to comprehend the words that Naruto had spoken. Was he serious? Was it true? Did he even want to believe him? If it was, if Naruto wasn't just being Naruto, then what would he do?

Naruto had gone from natural to awkward to nervous then finally to an unreadable expression within only a matter of minutes. Just by the way he was acting, Gaara could tell that he wasn't pulling his leg. He had opened his mouth and out had spilled three words Gaara never expected he would hear – not from Naruto, not from anyone. It was like the weight on his heart had lifted and then had slammed right back down. He couldn't breathe. He had to get out.

His mind a mess, he pushed passed Naruto and bolted for the door.

"G-Gaara!" Naruto called after him, his hand outstretched as if he could grab him back. Gaara was gone already though, running through the hall as fast as his feet would take him.

Naruto was already beginning to regret his decision, fearing that he'd said the wrong thing. He cursed his bad timing and his awkwardness. '_If I had done this_', '_If I had waited until then_' were already pervading his thoughts, crushing whatever confidence he had brought with him into Gaara's office.

"_Just when we had finally become such good friends,_" he thought, curling his fists. "_I had to mess it all up like that._"

He clutched the fabric of his jacket tightly over his heart. There was a pain there, constricting, making him dizzy. He'd already failed at telling him how he'd felt. It hadn't gone quite to plan. Who was he to think that he could already make amends now, after that? His feet didn't want to move him from where he was frozen in place. But what was he going to do?

Even if he could force himself to run and find him, what could he do?

"_No, Naruto,_" he told himself. "_You were so determined this morning. Don't let this chance escape you!_"

Steeling himself, curling his fists in half-hearted confidence, Naruto headed out the door – and promptly ran head-first into an unexpected wall. Or something softer but very much like a wall. He wasn't expecting to be stopped short so quickly. When his daze left him, he looked up to see what – or who – he had run into.

Instantly, he felt like hiding. Towering what now felt like at least one head taller than himself was Kankuro, Gaara's imposing, very _protective_ older brother.

"K-K-Kankuro! Imagine seeing you here!" Naruto stammered, a futile attempt to act natural.

"I live here," he said plainly, his eyes very unamused.

Carefully, Naruto stepped back to put some space between them. He sidestepped and made to leave in the direction in which he believed Gaara had headed but Kankuro grabbed him roughly by the collar and yanked him back.

"Leaving so soon, Naruto?" he crowed, the edges of his smile curling up slyly. "You wouldn't happen to be looking for little Gaara, now would you? What happened, hmm?"

Naruto's heart stopped in his chest and he turned nervously to meet Kankuro's intense gaze. He had the sneaking suspicion that he had seen his brother fleeing 'the scene of the crime' as it were. No matter what he could say to Kankuro, Naruto was sure it would come out sounding wrong.

Kankuro released him and moved closer. Naruto stumbled back. "L-look... Uh..."

"Yes?" His eyes, surrounded darkly by face paint, felt like they were burning holes into the back of his head. Naruto knew that he was expecting an answer and he was aware that something bad would happen if he didn't provide him one. But he couldn't just admit to him what he had been talking to Gaara about; that he told him he loved him... and consequently made him run away. At the very least... He could make something up.

"We were, uh, talking about p-p-pancakes."

Although it sounded lame and didn't come out very well, at least he had managed to say something at all.

Kankuro cocked his head to the side. "Are you stupid?"

"Kankuro."

Gaara.

Naruto's heart clenched for the hundredth time since he had spoken those fateful words.

Gaara's brother picked up his head at the sound of the kazekage's voice and addressed his presence. "Gaara."

While Naruto expected Gaara to look s stressed as he himself felt, he looked just as stoic as ever. Only his eyes betrayed him, being slightly red around the edges. Had he made him cry, he wondered? It was painfully easy to picture and it served to only make Naruto feel worse.

After all that they had experienced together lately, after all of the pain Gaara had been through just because of who and what he was, Naruto wanted nothing more than to make him smile and erase his frown forever.

Gaara stood firm and unwavering, commanding his brother with his gaze alone. "This is between Naruto and I. Please don't worry yourself with it."

Kankuro threw his nose in the air and gave an indignant sigh. "Fine," he said sourly, pushing Naruto roughly in Gaara's direction. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone."

Naruto staggered forward and almost tripped over himself. His cheeks burned still from what Kankuro had just said. "_Lovebirds?_" he thought. "_Why... Why would he think something like that?_" He hoped it wasn't _too _obvious how he felt about Gaara. He was the kazekage, after all. Loving him could possibly just cause another stigma to form. That would be the last thing he wanted for Gaara; to fill him with more needless pain and worry.

Once he was confident enough that Kankuro had cleared himself of the hallway, Gaara turned and began to walk in the opposite direction.

"Wait for me,: Naruto mumbled, feeling like Gaara was trying to abandon him.

He paused once and looked over his shoulder. It was just a glance but Naruto could see the unease in him. He kept going then with forced steps, each one heavy and calculated. Naruto wanted so badly to say something to him but he didn't want to break the silence they had fallen into. He followed behind him quietly, unsure of where they were going still. They passed many rooms, all of which lacked the sort of life Konoha's mansion held. Everything was business as usual. Eventually he could see light at the end of the hall (no doubt a balcony) but he feared that when they got there, it would only be business between them again as well.

Gaara pushed open the doors and closed them once Naruto stepped outside with him. Hands still lingering on the door's handles, he released a strained sigh.

"I'm sorry about that!" Naruto blurted out, unable to hold it back any longer.

"It's not your fault you ran into Kankuro like that," he said. When he finally turned back around, he still kept his eyes averted.

"N-no..." Naruto cursed his awkwardness again and swore he wouldn't eat ramen again for a week as punishment. _Or not._ "I mean before. In your, uh, office. When..."

"Right." He cleared his throat and shuffled nervously. It was strange to see him act that way. Even when he was put under pressure, he would remain calm... or murderous. This Gaara was different. Confronted by Naruto's feelings, a softer, more vulnerable side of him was revealed. "You don't have to apologize for that."

Naruto shook his head. "No, I do. I know you didn't want to hear it."

Then the most unexpected thing happened.

Gaara laughed.

It was a very genuine laugh, coming from deep in a place Naruto thought had long been buried. It made the blush rise to his cheeks again.

"Are you laughing at me?"

Gaara put the back of his hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter. "Yes, actually." With some color in his cheeks and the outdoor air sweeping through his hair, he seemed to be significantly more at ease. He took another step forward until their toes touched. "It just amazes me how unsure you are right now. Aren't you the confident one?"

"_So close... What's he doing so close to...?_"

Suddenly, unexpectedly, and completely without warning, Gaara grabbed his friend's shoulders and crushed their lips together. Naruto's eyes snapped open in disbelief but Gaara's were closed, his brow knitted in concentration. He would have done more if it didn't feel like he was going to have a heart attack. The second their lips spent together felt more like hours, an eternity. By the time they separated, Naruto had to teach himself how to breathe again.

"W-wha...?" he tried to speak. He fidgeted with the collar of his jacket, trying to cool down and calm his rapidly beating heart. "You kissed me!"

"You told me you loved me."

"I do! But why'd you kiss me? Was that some kind of payback?"

Gaara let out an exasperated sigh and shuffled back, a hand on his hip. "I swear, you can be dense."

"Dense?" Naruto questioned with a start. "Oh..." The realization dawned. "Oh!" His heart and mind so filled with sudden elation and relief, the only thing he could think to do was throw his arms around the boy. It felt so nice, so right. Pressing his cheek to Gaara's neck, he finally released the breath he'd been holding onto. His skin was as soft as the sand and he smelled like the desert. Naruto wondered why he had never noticed.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked.

"That you're dense? I thought I've told you things like that all the time."

Naruto would've forced a rebuttal but he remembered something that had been bothering him. "Why'd you run off before?" he asked. "You had me really worried."

The kazekage smiled slightly, embarrassedly. "You just... surprised me." In truth, he was scared. It wasn't like the thought had never crossed his own mind. To finally hear it out loud, it just confirmed it for him – it was true. He felt the same way. Running away from his problems was never the best answer but it was his first response. "I didn't mean to make you worried. I suppose I... should be the one apologizing then."

"Nah," Naruto whispered, wrapping his arms around the redhead tighter. "I think I understand"

He wasn't a monster anymore. He never had been. The beast that had been wrapping its claws around his heart had been released and would never bother him again.

This was Gaara. And Naruto loved him.

Author's Notes: This was my first Naruto fic that wasn't Kakashi/Iruka. Hopefully it wasn't too bad. I haven't been feeling particularly inspired lately but I'm totally in love with Naruto/Gaara. So... I hope you enjoyed reading!


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